Aftermath
by terekakushi
Summary: The events that happen after the end of LR, till before the epilogue of LR.
1. Farewell

Note 12/12/13: There's some romance in here but it's not really the main focus of the story. Sorry if anyone was disappointed. The pairings in my head are HopeXLight, FangXVanille, SerahXSnow, NoelXYeul, but everyone(the characters) has issues and it might not always be clear. =) I hope you enjoy the story anyway!

"Hope."

A gentle voice that appeared in his dreams was calling him.

"Hope."

The sound cut through his thoughts, becoming more solid. It wasn't a dream?  
There was no pain at all now. Amazing. He opened his eyes and blinked several times. He pushed himself up on his elbows, vaguely registering the lack of effort required for that movement. The world swam into focus.

"Mum? Is that… really you?"  
Tentatively, he stretched out his arm towards her, but as his fingers touched her sleeve, it broke up into a trail of sparkles before reforming itself. His hand fell uselessly to his side.

"Why?"

"This… is only a fragment of my soul. We who died too long ago have already merged with the chaos." She looked a little rueful as she explained. Then, her expression brightened.

"Stand up, let me see how you've grown."

Her tone was light, almost happy, almost like they were back in Bodhum on vacation and she was telling him about the people who gave her home-grown vegetables for free. He stood up stiffly, reflecting that it was strange to look at her from an elevated point of view. He was so much taller now.

"You've grown up."

"I had to." He replied reflexively, regretting it immediately afterwards. Unexpectedly, her eyes crinkled at the corners as she smiled at his response. Had she missed the sass of a fourteen-year old in a rebellious phase? He tried to read her expression, but Nora was walking cheerfully towards the bright light that was rising in the sky. Hope followed automatically, and they walked for a while in comfortable silence. Around them the world seemed to be alive. Grass and other plants grew at observable speeds. Animals that looked like chocobos shimmered into being and began flying around happily. Some flew very close to them, curious, and hovered around their heads.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Nora gazed around her happily. "A world for humans to live peaceful lives."

"I'm sorry!" He burst out suddenly. She turned to look at him with a confused expression.

"I wanted to change the past, and save you. But I couldn't do it in the end." Tears ran down his face and he rubbed them hastily with his sleeve, afraid she would disappear while he wasn't looking. Nora stepped close to him and held her arms around him, as close to a hug as she could make it without touching. He leaned in a little, feeling just a bit like a child again.

"You did the right thing. You fought to save the world. I'm sorry… that I couldn't be there for you. You had to do everything on your own." Hope shook his head vigorously to deny this.

"I wasn't alone. I had friends with me."

Still, she looked sad. He caught her eye, and suddenly his lips quirked upwards. Nora smiled back and without knowing quite how it happened, they were both laughing their hearts out. Their voices rang out in the clean, natural air. He had missed the sound of her laugh.

"Your father was right; there was nothing to worry about. You can take care of yourself now."

"Then is Dad-?"

"I don't know." Her eyes looked sad again. "Maybe he's already been reborn into a new life."

"No. He'd wait for you." He spoke impulsively. "Dad is definitely waiting for you! So you can be reborn together. So -" his voice caught "-you have to go back."  
Nora's smile grew wider. They must have walked some distance already and the light was even brighter now, but the light suffusing her body was not from the sky. Now the tears flowed uncontrollably, and he made no move to wipe them away, blinking furiously.

"We're proud of you, Hope. My son."

Her figure melted into a silhouette of sparkles before dissipating entirely. A sob racked his chest before he heard another voice. He spun around so quickly he nearly lost his balance.

"Ho...pe?" She was beautiful. In the light her hair glowed almost silver. From some reason she was dressed in her old soldier uniform again, like the first time they met.

"Light!" He closed the distance between them in seconds and threw his arms around her in an embrace. She hugged him briefly before stepping back and holding him at arm's length.

"I'm not the type who hugs at reunions.' She reminded him, but her tone was warm. Somberly she regarded him, as if examining his body for injuries. When their eyes met, she frowned a little and looked away.

"It's good that you're safe. You were crying."

"You were too." It was true. Her eyes were reddened and a little puffy.

"My comrades… from before everything began. They came to wish me goodbye."

"Oh."  
He didn't know quite how to respond to that, so he said nothing. She turned and regarded the world around them. A slight smile lifted the features of her face, but she had her hands wrapped around her elbows and seemed to be hardly breathing. Hope thought for a moment.

"It's the world that Serah wanted."  
At his words, her posture seemed to relax just a little.

"It's just hard to believe that everything is really over. No more fighting."

"You're wrong." He shook his head slightly. "Everything is just beginning. Our lives begin here and now, a new adventure and new battles to be fought. It's only a matter of what you choose to fight for. You have that choice now, so what will you do?"  
Lightning exhaled lightly before smiling wryly.

"You're right. I'll find Serah first and think about the rest later. What about you, Hope? What will you do now?"

"I'll go with you." He answered without hesitation. Her expression did not change, but her eyes brightened. She turned on her heel and started walking briskly.

"Let's go!"

A/N: This is going to be fairly slow-paced. I intend to update this frequently till January. Thanks for reading!


	2. Memory

Pain. Peace. Then flooding pain. And peace. When it seemed every fibre of his being would be burnt by the cold it would vanish as if it had never been, only to start again. An endless repetition continued and he clung to his sanity doggedly. Courage, he needed to find courage. Light! The sensations shifted like a kaleidoscope. Death, dying, everyone was leaving him. He was all alone and he would be alone forever. Light!

"I'm here."

The pain in his head receded and he became dimly aware of a firm pressure on his hand. Warmth spread across his cold skin. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and blinked. The night was extremely dark, but he thought he was able to make out Lightning's blue eyes peering into his, almost able to discern some anxiety in them. He tried to speak, but he couldn't make any sound come out, so he focused on shaking off the dream. Concentrating on the sound of his breathing, the scent of dirt with a suggestion of rose petals and the warmth of her hand he reminded himself which was reality. She waited silently while he stared into the night. Eventually his breathing and heartbeat slowed and he tested his voice again.

"Sorry. Did I wake you up?"

"No. I was awake."

Through their linked hands, he realized she was trembling slightly, so he tightened his grip on her hand. Part of it was a wish to reassure her, and part of it was due to a small fear, that if he let go now he would never be able to find her again. He would be alone once more. He was afraid, so he held on to hope.

"You were having a nightmare?"

"I thought… that I was back there."

"You aren't. You're here now." As always, her words were short and to the point, but that was in itself reassuring. In a world of uncertainty, it was a steady beacon of light to hold on to. Light would always be Light. Though she couldn't see him, he nodded, and managed a weak smile.

"Thanks. You weren't sleeping?" Her voice came out so soft he suspected he wouldn't have heard it if it hadn't been so quiet around. "When I close my eyes, it's like I'm still fighting." So, he was not the only one who couldn't shake off the past.

"Then we can both stay up together."

"Yeah."

With the spell of the nightmare broken, he felt a strange sense of security though he was still afraid to sleep again. In the darkness he listened to the sound of her breathing, but he did not after all stay awake. Slowly, he felt his consciousness ebb away and he slipped into a deep sleep this time, without any dreams at all.

He awoke feeling completely refreshed to the smell of something burning. Stretching a little, he looked around to find the source, and found a couple of birds roasting and burning over a small fire. Lightning was not around. Hope hurried to save breakfast from becoming cinders. He wanted to pick off the blackened bits, but half the meat was uncooked, so he turned them on the sides instead and sat down to watch. The morning was beautiful. It seemed that overnight, trees of a good size had grown up around them, and flowering bushes had appeared in full bloom. Monsters of a small harmless size scampered around the area, unafraid and unthreatening. He gazed upon everything with a kind of awe and nearly ended up letting the other half of the meat burn as well.

After a while, Lightning returned with strange fruits that strongly resembled the variety they'd had on Pulse. Her eyes were strained and had dark shadows beneath them. He said nothing about it, for what could he do to help? He wanted to do something, anything, but he was not sure how. He hoped that with time, the past would be easier to set aside. She seemed to be half-asleep and they ate silently before moving on. The food in the new world tasted like a hybrid of flavours from the old one. Back in Pulse, the meat was extremely gamey and had overly powerful flavour while the tastes in Cocoon were very mild. Now, it seemed a strange balance. Walking was pleasant in the early morning, but Hope soon noticed something strange.

"Hey Light."

"Hm?"

"I've been wondering this for a while, but you seem to know exactly where to go." She had been heading in the same direction for some time, never wavering.

"Huh?" She thought about it for a while before answering. "It's funny, but now that you mention it, I feel like I know where Serah is. It's like I'm connected to her now. It feels like I will always know where she is from now on." At this she looked ahead again, as if she could see Serah in the distance, and as if the knowledge made her happy.

It was very strange indeed. He spent the next few hours pondering theories on how this was so. A side effect of being reborn in the new world perhaps, or maybe the intense concentration of creation magic within the crystals had resulted in a spatter effect and forged strange bonds between people who were already linked. He shared some of these views with Lightning, who looked vaguely interested, but only commented that there was currently no way to know for sure.

"When everything's settled down, you can form your own research facility again, and find out what you want to know."

At this he fell silent. He wasn't sure if he wanted to go back to that life again. Every waking moment had been spent studying, researching, working to inspire others and achieve a goal. It had been a fulfilling life, but at the same time he felt a tiny bit of regret at missing out on everything else life had to offer. He wanted to know more, and see more. Now he wanted to experience everything there was to experience in this new world, he didn't think being a researcher was something he still wanted to do anymore. And yet, he had been enjoying himself. Research was fun, and meaningful in its own right. He was confused, and so he said nothing more. Presently she broke through his reverie by commenting "let's hurry."  
He gave her a questioning look, which she responded to by pointing at the sky. A spire of smoke stood out, grey against bright blue and he started to run. Lightning had begun running before he did, but he was still able to catch up to her and match her pace. They reached the encampment at the same time and something short and pink cannonballed into him with a squeal and a scream.

"You guys are here!"

"Vanille! It's good to see you." She was as cheerful as he'd remembered her. There had always been a hint of sadness about her smile, but it was gone now as if it had never been. He found himself smiling helplessly in response.

"We've been waiting forever! You have to come and see, we've already built a house! Well, sort of! Anyway, come!" She tugged on his arm excitedly and he let himself be dragged away. He glanced back before he was pulled out of sight and saw Lightning and Fang roll her eyes and shrug respectively.  
The 'house' was in fact a kind of makeshift shelter, formed of uneven bits of wood tied together in a most ingenious manner. It had a fairly large interior and was reasonably neat and tidy. Of course, no one had any belongings beyond the clothes on their back so there was nothing in the way of clutter. The fur of a large-sized monster sat bundled in a corner, and fruits of some kind were piled up at the other end of the room. Vanille spun around with a flourish and a 'ta-da' look on her face.

"So, what do you think?"

"It's really nice." He replied honestly. The simplicity of it all was soothing. "How did you build it so fast?"

"Well, we worked really hard, and we had to use some magic, of course!"

"Magic?" He blurted out, surprised.

"Yup!" she nodded happily. "We can use magic. Didn't you try?"

"Huh… no, I didn't. So magic exists in this world too."

"Maybe! Fang said the world hasn't settled down yet, so there's a lot of energy in the air."

"I see." The new information was surprising, and he sat down on the ground.

"Are you alright?" Obvious concern was written in her eyes as she frowned at him, her face just centimeters away from his.

"I am. It's just… everything's so different now. I don't know if I understand anything."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I…" If he tried to put his thoughts into words, would they seem clearer? Still, he did not know where to begin, so he shook his head. "Sorry, maybe later."

"Hmm." She seemed unconvinced, but let it go for now. "I know!" With surprising strength, the petite redhead pulled him to his feet. "Let's go on a spying mission!"

"What? Wait – huh?"

Greater height did not come with increased autonomy, he reflected, as he was pulled away yet again.

A/N: I figured that since L'cie come out of crystallization with their clothes reformed, the same magic could apply to their reborn souls.


	3. Troubles

Note: Thank you for reading this far. This started out as a Hope-ccentric fic, but I'd forgotten that since I'm working round to the epilogue shown in the game, I'm going to have to switch POVs around eventually.

"Vanille." His voice came out involuntarily in a whisper. "I don't think we should be doing this."

"Relax! Don't you want to know what they think about you when you're not around to hear it?"

"…no." He responded most unconvincingly.

"Did you get a bit taller?" She changed the subject abruptly, squinting up at him, all the while creeping closer to where Fang and Lightning were exchanging quiet words while stripping the tough fibres off juicy stems for lunch. Hope looked down at himself consideringly. He stood about a full head taller than Vanille. The last time they met, he barely reached the tip of her nose.

"I guess my body was returned to its actual age from before."

"Nope, I meant from just now!" Vanille scrambled over to some flowering bushes for cover without waiting for his answer, dropping to her hands and knees to hide. Slightly bemused, he followed suit, careless of the damage to his sleeves and trousers. They crawled slowly to the bush closest to the two as quietly as possible and flattened themselves to the ground, listening. She placed a finger to her lips and winked. There was something nostalgic about that small gesture which put the vague sense of unease from her earlier comment to rest, so he was smiling as he put his eye to a gap between the leaves to peek.

"We don't know anything about this world right now. There may be a reason for it, but anything we tried would only be a stab in the dark. Keep an eye on him for a few days, see if you can figure anything out."

"Let me know if you come up with something. Maybe he should stay here with you. I don't know how far Serah is from here."

Fang was facing away from them, and Lightning's hair fell forward to hide her face, so he couldn't read their expressions. Was 'he' himself? A small spike of disappointment made him exhale audibly and Vanille poked his arm painfully in warning.

"That's for him to decide. He's not a kid anymore."

Lightning shrugged. "You're right." but she did not sound happy to concede it. There was silence for a bit, interrupted by the regular sound of bits of stripped fibre being flicked on the ground.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"You said you knew where Serah was. How does that work?"

"I just do. It's feels like she's calling me to her."

"Does it feel like there's a string pulling on your heart towards her?"

"Yeah. Exactly like that." She did not voice the obvious question, but she must have looked quizzical.

"You're not as good at that as you used to be."

"What do you mean?"

"Your face. You're letting your feelings show."

"Ah." She looked up from her work, and raised a hand to her face, which began to show signs of surprise before it smoothed and became impassive once more.

"Isn't it okay? You can trust us now."

"I trust you. But showing my feelings on my face isn't my character."

"You never change, do you?" Fang chuckled, and Lightning smiled wryly.

"Mm." She rubbed her eyes before she finished off the last stem and flicked it into the basket. It hit the edge and would have bounced to the ground if Fang  
had not caught it reflexively.

"We've just been reborn but you look like death incarnate." Fang prodded Lightning's cheekbone roughly with her thumb, continuing "Your new life won't last long if you're not planning on sleeping in it."  
She must have been pretty tired because she made only a halfhearted attempt to bat her hand away. Hope suddenly remembered the ease with which he had caught up with her run earlier and felt a stab of worry.

"I'll be fine. I just need to find Serah. It's not over yet."

"You sure about that? Seems to me like she's not your only problem right now. Look at you. Just when I thought you finally got yourself some fashion sense, you're back in your uniform again. We're finally here, and safe. That fight is over. Time has moved on. Aren't you the one that can't let go of the past?"

Lightning's hand reached for a weapon that was no longer there before she stopped herself, and looked down at her gloves. The scars and calluses of battle still marked her fingers, and she was glad for them. They were a reminder of who she was, and what she had fought for.

"Maybe. I've been fighting for so long I don't know if I'll be able to do anything else but fight. It feels like if I don't, then the person called 'Lightning' might not even exist. In a world without a need for a soldier, I'm not sure if there's a place for me. Right now I can keep going because there's still something left to do, but once I find Serah, there might be nothing left. I wanted this, but I'm also… afraid, of my future."

"It's alright to be afraid, as long as you don't run away from it." Her voice held nothing but kindness. "Why don't you take it slow? You don't have to let everything go now, just give yourself a chance. You'll find new battles to fight, but you don't have to forget the old ones."

"I guess… you may be right." She rested her forehead on her arms, supporting them with her knees drawn up to her body, hiding her face from view. "I'll give it a try and let you know. Thanks for the advice."

"Take a rest, you deserve it. Did you ever think what you would have done if you hadn't become a soldier?"

"No." She had always moved forward, without looking back. There was no use in thinking about what could have been.

"Well, you can start thinking now." She patted her arm before turning around and looking right at where they were hiding. Beside him, he felt Vanille jerk in surprise as they were met by the force of her eyes. "And you two can come out now."

Hope scratched his head and came out of his hiding place sheepishly. Vanille simply bounced up shamelessly, fixing Fang with round, innocent eyes.

"We were just playing a game-"

"When did you know we were there?"

She ruffled Vanille's hair with a sigh as she replied.

"From the moment you started crawling here. Had fun?"

"Yup!"

"Sorry…"

Fang was looking at him thoughtfully, eyes tracing the outlines of his head and shoulders. Her scrutiny made him uncomfortable, so he looked over cautiously at Lightning, but she remained unmoving as if she hadn't noticed their presence.

"Time to eat, sleepyhead." Fang shook her shoulder slightly, but did not get a response.

"Are you angry?" Vanille hopped over to her, and knelt down. She tried to peek under her arms to see if she was awake, lifting a lock of pink hair out of the way. When that failed to produce a reaction, she pouted and pulled at her arm, which swung out with little resistance. The movement caused her body to slump to the side, falling heavily on Vanille's lap. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing shallowly. Vanille looked up at Fang in alarm.

"Light!" In a trice, both of them had crossed over to her. He squeezed her arm anxiously, while Fang felt her pulse and temperature. Her skin was extremely cold, but her face was flushed.

"She'll be alright." Fang spoke reassuringly, though her expression was still troubled. "Probably just exhaustion. Let's get her inside."


End file.
